If you’re White, you
don’t know what it’s like to be Black in America. You might think you
understand, but you don’t. I used to think I knew, I didn’t. In 2015 I moved to New
Orleans to study social work and worked at a non-profit called the Youth
Empowerment Project that served a 99% African American population. I spent
every day working to help make sure the young men I served had the resources
they needed, and were exposed to opportunities to better themselves. For the last
five years I’ve worked with student-athletes every day, many of whom are Black. They
leave their communities to attend predominantly white institutions where they
face unique challenges every day. Challenges that you can’t understand unless
you’ve walked in their shoes. Trust me, I’m not trying to tell you I
understand, but I have a better idea of what it’s like than your average white
man, and I’m trying every day to have a better understanding so I can support
them the best I can. There’s a significant amount of ignorance regarding the
racial injustice the black community continues to face every day, and because
of my experiences I want to use my platform to educate my fellow white people,
and to let the black people in my life know that while I may never fully
understand, I hear you, I see you, I feel your pain, and I’m never going to
stop using my voice to help initiate change.
I first became aware of
the discarding of Black lives, and White people trying to justify it in 2013
during the Trayvon Martin trial. I’m not here to rehash the details of the case,
you can do the research and make your own determination on what happened. The
fact remains Trayvon was an unarmed Black teenager, shot and killed in 2012 by
George Zimmerman, a man who was on neighborhood watch, and I was just shocked at how many people were trying to justify why George Zimmerman was within his rights to kill him. Since that case, these
are some of the cases in which unarmed Black men, women, teenagers, and in at least one
case, a child, have been killed. 
*Sandra's death was ruled a suicide, however there is little debating that her interaction with law enforcement on July 10th contributed to her tragic death.
This is not a
comprehensive list of every Black person who has died at the hands of police
since 2013, but rather a list of the cases that I am acutely aware of where the
loss of black lives could have easily been avoided if the individuals carrying
out the violence didn’t have a false narrative about who these Black men were
when they encountered them. A false narrative based on stereotypes, fueled by
historical oppression and racism, and fear because of a lack of understanding. In each of
these cases black men were killed tragically, and to my understanding the
Walter Scott case is the only one in which the police officer was charged with
a crime and was actually convicted. Until these individuals gain a better
understanding of the people they are serving, this will continue. Until they
are held accountable for their actions, this will continue.
The Black Lives Matter
movement was founded in 2013 in response to this violence. There seems to be a
belief among many white people that Black Lives Matter is anti-police, or that
it promotes violence against white people. It’s simply not true. That’s not the
goal, and it never has been. Go to their website https://blacklivesmatter.com/. There is nothing on it to suggest the way to end this is through
violence against police. When you see the hashtag, don’t respond with
#AllLivesMatter, or #BlueLivesMatter. We get that all lives matter, but black
people are the ones losing their lives at the hands of those charged with
protecting us. I respect and appreciate the police that protect our
communities, but changes need to be made. The first two items on this list
are a great place to start.
Here’s another issue I
have. White people were so offended by Colin Kaeperinick’s peaceful protest in
2016 when he decided not to stand for the national anthem. I heard, and
continue to hear and read statements like “He could have found a different
place to do it,” “he’s disrespecting the flag,” “he’s disrespecting the
military,” “he gets paid millions so he doesn’t have to deal with inequality.”
People were so desperate to ascribe their own meaning to what he was doing
because they didn’t want to acknowledge the actual reason, which he stated from
the start when asked about it. According to The
Undefeated after being questioned
regarding why Colin didn’t stand, he responded “I
am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses
black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it
would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the
street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” And now as
people around the country, both black and white, take their protests to the
streets, the conversation is, “these people are looting and rioting,” “how
could they do this?,” “they’re destroying their community,” “this isn’t helping
anything.” If peaceful protests aren’t getting it done, people are going to
revert to other methods, regardless of how you feel personally about their
choices. You can judge all you want, but you can’t tell people how to protest
if you’ve never been oppressed.
I don’t
want to hear about Black on Black crime when a cop kills a Black person. The Black community is aware that gun violence, gangs, and drugs are a problem. If
you don't have any interest in learning about historical oppression, systemic
racism, and trying to fix it, on a micro, mezzo, or macro level you don't get to comment on it. You tell athletes to stick to sports, but want to be an expert on Black on Black crime because of what you saw on The Wire and the 5 o clock news. Black people deal
with their own trauma every day, they don’t need white people rehashing it so
they can avoid the issue at hand.
The
cases I’m talking about above are just the tip of the iceberg. These are the
cases that have become national news because these individuals were killed for
no reason. This doesn’t even begin to cover the other forms of racism the black
community deals with every day. When cases like this happen, I think of the
young men I used to serve in New Orleans, and the hundreds of Black
student-athletes I've worked with over the last 5 years. I think about how
difficult it must be for them to wonder if they are going to be safe to go on a
run, or if they encounter a cop who doesn't understand who they are or what
they're doing. I think about wanting to give them a bro hug and telling them
I'm here for them, knowing I'm not adequately prepared to deal with how to help
them, but wanting to try anyway. I think about wanting to tell them they're
safe and this would never happen to them, but not knowing if that's true. All
of us have a choice, are you going to be part of the solution, or are you going
to continue to be part of the problem?
*Editors's Note: The original version of this blog didn't include Breonna Taylor or Sandra Bland in the chart. At the time of publication I was unaware of the tragic death of Breonna. Sandra's case is noteworthy because it points to the nature of how policing practices need to change, and how if they don't, there can be tragic results.
